June 21, 2007 — Things are going to get much worse before they get better, local and federal officials said Thursday at a meeting to discuss the upcoming roundabout project in Cruz Bay, and residents agreed.
"It's going to be a mess," said St. John resident Robert O'Connor Jr., one of more than 50 people gathered at the Legislature building for the meeting, which included officials from the Public Works Department and the Federal Highway Administration.
The roundabout will be built at the busiest intersection on St. John, the point where several roads come together: Centerline, the road that runs past the Boulon Center, the road that passes Julius E. Sprauve School, the road that comes from Enighed Pond and South Shore.
The project is slated to tie up Cruz Bay for two years. Officials expect work to begin in February 2008 and continue until February 2010. They expect the final design work to be done by August. The project will go out for bid in September, with the contract awarded in November.
Public Works Commissioner Darryl Smalls declined to give the expected cost of the project because he didn't want to tip off the contractors who will bid on it. However, he said that it is 100 percent federally funded and the money has been in place since 2005.
O'Connor operates the Texaco gas station and car rental near where the roundabout will go. The station is closing July 9 to make way for the project. The fuel tanks need to be removed and the area cleaned up before the roundabout construction can begin.
Several people expressed concern about how emergency vehicles will navigate around Cruz Bay when various sections of existing roads are closed or impacted by the construction.
Time counts when transporting sick people, so detouring around the construction area could have a serious impact, said Emergency Medical Technician George Melendez.
"You need to come up with an emergency plan," he said.
St. John resident Steve Crumrine predicted that traffic would be so tied up that emergency vehicles wouldn't be able to get through.
"I don't care how many flags you have," he said. "If the traffic is backed up one and a half miles, the fire truck isn't going to get out."
Also at issue is the impact on students at nearby Julius E. Sprauve School. The lower-grade students at the Clarice Thomas Annex, located adjacent to the roundabout, will be moved to Sprauve School to cut down on the noise and dust they will have to endure, said Lisa Forde, insular superintendent for St. Thomas and St. John.
The contractor will be asked to do as much work at night as possible to cut down on the impact on the school, said Wystan Benjamin, federal-aid program manager at Public Works.
In response to requests by several people that the project be canceled or delayed, Benjamin said the roundabout is needed to solve traffic problems at a very bad intersection, not to alleviate congestion that many thought would occur when the Enighed Pond Marine Terminal opened. Traffic from the terminal doesn't appear to have a major impact on traffic in the rest of Cruz Bay.
Smalls promised to keep the public informed about upcoming developments before they occur.
Residents also spoke about the problems caused by big trucks traversing the island's narrow and twisting roads. Lt. Lorraine Evans, recently appointed the Police Department's zone commander for St. John, said she is addressing that issue and will increase traffic enforcement.
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